Jy:u^  Pr, 


ix^^^> 


mim. 


ADDRESS 


RT.  REV.  STEPHEN  ELLIOTT,  J).  1)., 


THII?,T"5r-3SriN"TM 


fVNNUAL  CONVENTIONc 


or  Till': 


f  »0t«staut  ^^\%%^s^  a^hiuch,     1^ 


IN'    TlIK 


diocesp:  of  (ieorgta. 


S  A  V  A  N  N  A  il  : 
I'OWKU  PRESS  OP  JOHN  SI.  COOPER  i  COMPANY. 


1861. 


^^M'^- 


ADDRESS 


RT.  REV.  STEPHEN  ELLIOTT,  D.  D., 


TO   THE 


THII^T^^-ltTIi^rTH: 


c 


xtiUsimt  €^bt^id  (E\nm\\, 


DIOCESE    OF    GEORGIA 


S  AVA  N  N  A  H: 

POWER  PRESS  OF  JOHN  M.  COOPER  &  COMPANY. 
1861. 


THE  FLOWERS  COLLKTION  StTUt^     \z.. 


Brethren  of  the  Clergy  axd  Laity: 

Wc  meet,  to-day,  under  circumstances  very  unlike  anv 
Avhicli  have  ever  surrounded  us  since  our  connection  as 
Bisliop  and  people.  Hitherto  we  have  assembled  as  an  Eccle- 
siastical Council,  Avith  no  cares  resting  upon  our^ hearts  save 
those  which  concerned  the  Church  of  Christ.  To-day  we  feel 
most  painfully,  in  addition  to  these,  the  sorrow  which  arises 
from  the  severed  ties  of  friendship  and  of  country.  Hitherto 
l^eace  has  ever  smiled  upon  our  meetings  with  her  bright  face 
of  prosperity  and  security.  To-day  the  whole  land  is  re- 
sounding with  the  preparation  for  war  —  war  with  those  who, 
until  a  few  months  since,  were  our  countrj'men  and  our  breth- 
ren. Hitherto  our  Church  has  moved  undisturbed  through 
all  the  storms  which  have  agitated  the  civil  State.  To-day  a 
stern  necessity  is  laid  upon  us  to  examine  relations  which  we 
fondly  hoped  would  be  indestructible.  May  God's  Holy 
Spirit  shed  more  abundantly  than  ever  upon  us  the  spirit  of 
wisdom  and  of  understanding,  and  may  we  receive  grace  to 
put  awaj^  from  us  all  pride,  prejudice,  and  passion,  and  to 
consult  together  as  the  children  of  the  God  of  Love  and 
disciples  of  the  Prince  of  Peace. 

As  an  ordintiry  rule,  the  Church  of  Christ  has  but  little  to 
do  with  political  events,  and  our  own  branch  of  that  Church 
has  most  scrupulously  avoided  all  entanglement  with  parties 
and  their  unceasing  conflicts.  She  has  ever  inculcated  the 
Apostolic  rule  that  "  the  powers  which  be  are  ordained  of 
God,"  and  has  enjoined  upon  her  members  the  Christian  du- 
ties of  reverence  for  established  authority,  and  of  obedience 
to  law  and  order.     Even  up  to  this  moment,  through  all  the 


TUZoi 


4  ADDEESS   OF   THE 

angry  discussions,  and  excited  passions  of  the  last  seventy 
years,  she  lias  never,  in  any  of  her  numerous  synodical  con- 
ventions, taken  any  part  in  the  sectional  movements  which 
have  agitated  and  convulsed  the  Union.  Although  the 
ablest  laymen  of  the  country,  many  of  them  politicians, 
warmly  engaged  in  the  current  strife  of  the  day,  have  held 
seats  in  her  councils,  they  have  invariabl}^  abstained,  while  in 
Ecclesiastical  session,  from  all  interference  with  politics,  and 
have  ever  confined  themselves  to  the  legitimate  business  of  the 
Church,  the  advancement  of  "Peace  on  earth,  good  will  towards 
men."  Whatever  may  have  been  their  private  opinions,  they 
have  carefully  held  them  in  abeyance,  while  engaged  in  the 
councils  of  the  Church.  This  wise  and  Christian  conduct  has 
made  the  Episcopal  Church  a  wonder  and  a  glory  in  the  land, 
and  while  most  of  the  other  Christian  bodies  of  the  late 
United  States  have  been  engaged  in  strife  and  bitter  conten- 
tion, and  have  many  of  them  long  since  severed  all  christian 
union  and  communion,  our  Church  has  never  permitted  these 
distracting  questions  to  enter  within  her  consecrated  walls. 
Amid  the  present  confusion  and  distraction  of  the  country, 
she  can  lift  up  clean  hands  and  a  pure  heart  and  appeal  to 
the  God  of  Heaven  that  she  has  had  no  part  nor  lot,  as  a 
Church,  in  producing  the  strife  which  is  rapidly  marching  to 
dip  its  feet  in  blood. 

But  while,  as  a  Church,  she  has  had  no  share  in  producing 
the  condition  of  things  which  exists  around  her,  she  is  never- 
theless involved  in  that  condition,  and  cannot,  by  any  means, 
be  made  independent  of  it.  Every  member  of  the  Church  is 
a  member  likewise  of  the  Commonwealth,  unless,  as  Hooker 
says  in  the  8th  book  of  his  Ecclesiastical  Polity,  "the  name 
of  the  Church  be  restrained  in  a  Christian  Commonwealth  to 
the  Clergy,  excluding  all  the  residue  of  believers."  And 
being  members  at  the  same  time  of  the  Church  and  of  the 
Commonwealth,  the  circumstances  and  relations  of  the  one 
must  affect  the  circumstances  and  relations  of  the  other.  'Tis 
true  that  "  under  dominion  of  infidels"  as  in  the  times  of  the 
primitive  Church,  "  the  Church  of  Christ  and  their  Common- 


BISHOP  OF  GEORGIA.  5 

wealth  were  two  societies  independent,"  but  in  that  case  a 
state  of  antagonism  existed  between  Christianity  and  Pagan- 
ism, which  absolutely  forbad  any  mutual  dependency  between 
them.  But  when  the  Commonwealth,  as  in  our  times,  is,  if 
not  professedly,  at  least  practicall}^.  Christian,  it  is  almost  im- 
possible to  draw  any  line  which  can  separate  the  relations  of 
the  Church  from  the  relations  of  the  Commonwealth.  The 
actions  of  the  Commonwealth  being  the  actions  of  the  citizens 
of  that  Commonwealth,  and  those  citizens  making  up  the 
body  of  the  Church  and  forming  its  Legislature,  there  must 
be,  inevitably,  a  mutual  relationship  and  dependency.  It  can 
not  be  got  rid  of,  without  abolishing  the  whole  framework 
of  constitutional  and  canonical  law  which  binds  together  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church  of  this  countrj^. 

That  organization,  which  is  styled  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church  in  the  United  States,  was  bailt  up  out  of  the  frag- 
ments of  the  Church  of  England  which  remained  in  the 
States  after  the  Revolution.  But  little  change  was  made  in 
anything  pertaining  to  its  essential  character  as  a  part  of  the 
Church  Catholic  of  Christ.  It  retained  the  Apostolic  Minis- 
try in  its  three  Orders  of  Bishops,  Priests,  and  Deacons;  the 
Apostolic  Faith,  as  embodied  in  the  Creeds,  the  Articles,  and 
the  Formularies  of  the  Church ;  the  Sacraments  as  ordained 
by  Christ  himself  Its  liturgical  worship  was  adapted  from 
that  of  the  Church  of  England,  with  such  modifications  only 
as  rendered  it  suitable  to  the  new  order  of  the  civil  state.  But 
when  it  came  to  consider  its  relations  to  the  State,  it  found 
itself  in  a  condition  different  both  from  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land and  the  Church  of  Piome.  In  the  Church  of  England, 
the  Head  of  the  State  was  likewise  the  Head  of  the  Church, 
thus  making  the  Commonwealth  and  the  Church  "one  socie- 
ty," to  use  Hooker's  phrase.  In  the  Church  of  Rome,  the 
Bishop  of  Rome  did  not  suffer  the  Church  to  depend  upon 
the  power  of  any  civil  Prince  or  Potentate,  but  made  himself 
the  centre  of  Catholic  unit3^  The  Church  in  this  country 
could  follow  neither  of  these  models;  not  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land, because  by  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  any 


T722/)^ 


6  ADDKESS  OF  THE 

union  between  Churcli  and  State  was  prohibited:  not  tbe 
Cbureb  of  Kome,  because  she  did  not  recognize  the  supremacy 
of  the  Bishop  of  Eome.  She  found  herself  therefore  indepen- 
dent of  the  Commonwealth,  and  free  to  establish  such  relations 
with  the  civil  authority  as  she  might  deem  best.  And  it  is  out 
of  the  decision  to  which  she  came,  that  the  necessity  arises  for 
some  action  on  our  part  in  view  of  the  secession  of  the  State 
of  Georgia  from  the  Federal  Union,  and  of  the  formation,  in 
connection  with  other  States,  of  an  independent  government, 
to  wit:   "the  Confederate  States  of  America." 

Had  the  Episcopalians  who  convened  to  organize  a  Church 
in  the  United  States  and  to  obtain  for  this  country  the  succes- 
sion of  Bishops,  been  satisfied  to  receive  that  succession  from 
the  Church  of  England,  and  to  establish  its  Episcopate  with- 
out any  absolutely  restricted  jurisdiction,  governing  the 
Church  through  councils  of  Bishops  and  Presbyters,  the 
Church  should  have  been  independent  of  all  State  boundaries, 
and  should  have  been  unaffected  in  its  relations  by  any 
changes  in  the  civil  state.  But  the  jealousy  of  Episcopal 
and  even  priestly  authority,  which  existed  in  this  countrv 
after  the  Ke volution,  made  this  independence  seemingly  hope- 
less. It  Avas  deemed  necessarj^  to  organize  the  Church  upon 
the  model  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  to  create 
a  General  Convention  in  which  Laymen  should  have  an  equal 
representation  with  Clergymen  and  by  which  all  Ecclesiastical 
law  should  be  established  and  modified,  and  to  define  shai'ply 
the  jurisdiction  of  Bishops.  This  was  done  by  making  their 
Dioceses  co-terminous  with  the  States  in  Avhich  they  were 
established,  and  giving  to  each  Diocese,  no  matter  what  its 
size,  an  equal  representation  in  the  House  of  Clerical  and  Lay 
Deputies  as  well  as  in  the  House  of  Bishops.  Each  Bishop 
was  tied  down  to  his' jurisdiction  by  a  marriage  which  admit- 
ted of  no  divorce.  His  privileges  as  a  Bishop  of  the  Church 
Catholic  of  Christ  no  human  oro'anization  could  affect,  but  all 
his  privileges  as  a  Bishop  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church 
of  the  United  States,  arose  out  of  his  connection  with  his 
particular  jurisdiction,   and  expired  with   that  jurisdiction. 


BISHOP   OF   GEORGIA.  7 

If  he  resigned  his  jurisdiction,  he  was  still  a  Bishop  of  the 
Church  of  Christ;  of  that  nothing  could  divest  him;  but  he 
became  ineligible  to  any  Diocese  then  in  union  with  the  Pro- 
testant Episcopal  Church  in  the  United  States  or  'afterwards 
to  be  admitted  into  union  with  it,  was  deprived  of  his  seat  in 
the  House  of  Bishops,  and  could  perform  the  functions  of 
his  Episcopal  office  only  at  the  request  of  a  Bishop  having  Ec- 
clesiastical jurisdiction.  He  ceased,  in  fine,  upon  his  resigna- 
tion, of  his  jurisdiction,  to  be  a  Bishop  of  the  Protestant  Epis- 
^copal  Church  in  the  United  States.  And  this  strict  connection 
of  the  Episcopate  with  jurisdiction  has  been  extended  to  our 
Foreign  Missionary  Bishops  with  the  like  scrupulous  jealousy. 
In  the  Canon  of  Foreign  Missionary  Bishops  it  is  distinctly 
provided  that  they  shall  have  no  jurisdiction  except  in  the 
place  or  country  for  which  they  may  have  been  elected  or 
consecrated ;  that  they  shall  not  be  entitled  to  seats  in  the 
House  of  Bishops;  that  they  shall  not  even  be  eligible  to  an 
organized  Diocese  of  the  United  States  unless  with  the  consent 
of  three-fourths  of  all  the  Bishops  entitled  to  seats  in  the 
House  of  Bishops. 

The  animus  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the 
United  States,  therefore,  clearly  is,  that  the  Bishop  shall  go 
with  his  jurisdiction.  He  is  a  Bishop  of  the  Protestant  Epis- 
copal Church  in  the  United  States,  not  because  he  is  a  Bishop 
of  the  Church  Catholic,  but  because  he  is  the  Bishop  of  ^Eaine, 
or  of  New  York,  or  of  New  Jerse}^,  as  the  case  may  be. 
When  the  jurisdiction  therefore  of  a  Bishop  declares  itself,  in 
the  exercise  of  its  rightful  sovereignty  to  be  thenceforth  and 
forever  separated  from  the  other  jurisdictions  which  make  up 
the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the  United  States,  it  forces 
him  necessarily  into  a  like  separation.  Should  he,  in  conse- 
quence of  this  action  of  the  State  in  which  his  Diocese  lies, 
resign  his  jurisdiction  he  gains  nothing,  for  by  that  act  he  is 
no  longer  a  Bishop  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the 
United  States,  nor  can  he  ever  again  be.  If  he  does  not  resign 
he  is  likewise  in  the  same  predicament,  for  his  j  urisdiction  hav 
ing  declared  itself  out  of  the  Union,  he  must  necessarily  go 


O  ADDKESS   OF  THE 

out  witli  it.  So  that,  in  any  case,  the  separation  of  his  jurisdic- 
tion  severs  him  at  once  from  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in 
the  United  States,  not  simply  because  the  Church  must  follow 
the  nationality,  but  because  the  Church  of  the  United  States 
has  trammelled  itself  with  constitutional  and  canonical  provi- 
sions which  forces  the  Church  and  its  Bishop  into  this  attitude. 
And  this  difficulty  is  very  much  increased,  when  a  Bishop's 
jurisdiction  is  separated  by  a  formal  exercise  of  sovereignty, 
which  he  believes  to  be  constitutional,  of  which  he  heartily  ap- 
proves and  which  he  deems  absolutely  necessary.  Was  his 
jurisdiction  in  a  state  of  rebellion  or  insurrection,  it  might  be 
his  duty  patiently  to  await  the  issue  of  the  struggle,  and  to 
bear  and  suffer  what  might  be  laid  upon  him  in  the  perform- 
ance of  his  episcopal  functions.  But  we  are  not  in  any  such 
condition.  The  State,  which  is  co-terminous  with  our  Diocese, 
has,  in  the  exercise  of  her  unquestioned  sovereignty  and  with 
the  almost  unanimous  consent  of  her  people,  resumed  the 
powers  which  she  had  delegated  to  the  Federal  Government,  and 
has  confederated  herself  with  other  States,  which  have  in  like 
manner  resumed  their  delegated  powers,  forming  an  entirely 
new  government  under  a  constitution  prepared  with  great 
wisdom  and  moderation  and  ratified  by  the  people  of  the 
said  States  in  convention  assembled.  There  has  been  no 
force,  no  violence,  no  compulsion,  do  necessity  laid  upon  any 
man  to  vote  otherwise  than  his  conscience  or  his  will  dictated. 
These  States  have  passed,  without  any  civil  convulsion  what- 
ever, in  the  most  solemn  manner,  with  fasting  and  prayer,  from 
one  government  to  another,  and  are  to-day  as  independent  of 
the  Federal  Union,  as  France  is  of  England,  or  Prussia  is  of 
Spain.  These  States  are  no  longer,  in  any  sense,  a  part  of  the 
United  States,  and  consequently  the  Bishops  of  these  States  or 
Dioceses,  for  in  this  connection  those  words  are  synonymouSy 
are  no  longer  Bishops  of  any  of  the  United  States.  They  are 
now  Bishops  of  the  Confederate  States.  Was  any  one  of  us 
to  present  himself  at  the  door  of  the  House  of  Bishops  at  the 
next  General  Convention,  and  demand  his  seat,  the  question 
might  fairly  be  asked  him,  "  Are  you  a  Bishop  having  juris- 


BISHOP  OF   GEORGIA.  9 

diction  in  one  of  the  United  States  of  America?"  If  he 
answered  that  he  was,  he  would  be  ignoring  the  action  of 
the  State  in  which  his  jurisdiction  lies,  renouncing  his  alle- 
giance to  her,  and  would  be  in  every  legal  sense  guilty  of 
treason.  If  he  should  reply  that  he  was  not,  then  the  answer 
would  be,  ''  No  Bishop  is  entitled  to  a  seat  upon  this  floor, 
unless  by  courtesy,  who  is  not  a  Bishop  of  one  of  these  Uni- 
ted States;"  and  so  with  our  Clerical  and  Lay  deputies.  They 
would  occupy  precisely  the  same  ground,  and  wouhl  neces- 
sarily pass  through  the  same  catechism. 

It  has  been  asked,  "Might  we  not  meet  once  again  in  Gen- 
eral Convention  and  there  determine  upon  the  future  relations 
of  the  respective  Dioceses?"  Putting  aside  the  difiiculties 
which  might  arise  in  pursuing  such  a  course  from  a  state  of 
war,  which  now  seems  inevitable,  we  must  not  forget  thai  it  is 
oar  dutv,  as  a  Church,  to  maintain,  if  we  think  its  action  right, 
the  dignity  of  the  Government  of  which  we  are  now  the  law- 
ful subjects,  and  never,  by  any  action  of  ours,  to  lower  in  any 
degree  its  position  in  the  eye  of  the  world.  Such  a  step  as 
disunion  would  never  have  been  taken  so  unanimously  and  so 
peaceably  by  the  States  which  formed  the  new  Confederacy,  if 
there  had  not  been  a  profound  feefing  of  its  absolute  necessity. 
Too  many  ties  of  friendship,  of  sympathy,  of  interest;  too 
many  associations  with  the  past,  and  too  many  aspirations  for 
the  future,  bound  the  North  and  the  South  together,  to  permit 
the  Union  to  have  been  broken,  if  a  deep  sense  of  utter  inse- 
curity under  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  had  not 
impressed  itself  upon  the  minds  and  hearts  of  the  people  of 
the  South.  It  is  due  to  those  with  whom  we  have  been  so 
pleasantly  united  as  a  Church,  that  they  should  understand 
this  matter  —  that  they  should  not  suppose  this  separation  to 
have  taken  place  under  the  impulse  of  passion,  or  at  the  beck 
of  ambition.  It  has  been  done  most  solemnly — with  tears  in 
our  eyes,  and  prayers  upon  our  lips  —  with  a  lively  sense  of 
our  duty  to  God,  to  our  children,  and  above  ali^  to  the  race 
whom  he  has  committed  to  our  guardianship  and  Christian 
nurture.  However  the  world  may  judge  us  in  connection  with 
B 


10  ADDEESS   OF  THE 

our  institution  of  slavery,  we  conscientiously  believe  it  to  be 
a  great  missionary  institution  —  one  arranged  by  God,  as  he 
arranges  all  the  moral  and  religious  influences  of  the  world^ 
so  that  good  may  be  brought  out  of  seeming  evil,  and  a 
blessing  wrung  out  of  every  form  of  the  curse.  We  believe 
that  we  are  educating  these  people  as  they  are  educated  no 
where  else ;  that  we  are  elevating  them  in  every  generation  ; 
that  we  are  working  out  God's  purposes,  whose  consummation 
we  are  quite  willing  to  leave  in  his  hands.  We  do  not  ex- 
pect infidels  —  men  who  are  clamoring  for  a  new  God,  and  a 
new  Christ,  and  a  new  Bible  —  to  believe  this,  but  we  did 
hope  that  Christian  men,  our  brethren  in  the  faith  of  Christy 
and  in  the  hopes  of  eternity,  would  credit  our  integrity  and 
our  ftiithfulness.  We  feel  sure,  that  when  the  whirlwind  of 
passion  shall  have  passed,  we  shall  receive  justice  at  the  hands 
of  God's  people,  being  determined,  meanwhile,  by  the  grace  of 
God,  to  defend  with  the  sacrifice  of  everything,  if  need  be, 
this  sacred  charge  which  has  been  committed  to  us.  We  can 
not  permit  our  servants  to  be  cursed  with  the  liberty  of  licen- 
tiousness and  infidelity,  but  we  will  truly  labor  to  give  them 
that  liberty  wherewith  Christ  has  made  us  all  free. 

In  pursuance  of  these  vie-J^s,  the  Bishop  of  Louisiana  and 
myself  addressed,  as  the  semor  Bishops  of  the  seceded  States, 
the  following  letter  to  the  Ecclesiastical  Authority  of  each  of 
the  Dioceses  of  the  Confederate  States,  recommending-  the 
course  which,  after  consultation,  we  concluded  to  be  the  best 
for  the  deliberate  determination  of  our  future  course  of 
action : 

,  University  Place,  Franklin  County,  Tenn.,  ) 

March  23,  1861.  J 

Rt.  Rev.  and  Dear  Brother: 

The  rapid  march  of  events,  and  the  change  which  has  taken  place  in  our 
civil  relations,  seem  to  us,  your  brethren  in  the  Episcopate,  to  require  an  early 
consultation  among  the  Dioceses  of  the  Confederate  States,  for  the  purpose  of 
considering  their  relations  to  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  of  the  United 
States,  of  which  they  have  so  long  been  the  equal  and  happy  members. 


BISHOP   OF   GEORGIA.  11 

This  necessity  does  not  arise  out  of  any  dissension  which  has  occurred  within 
the  Church  itself,  nor  out  of  any  dissatisfaction  with  either  the  doctrine  or  tho 
■discipHne  of  the  Church.  We  rejoice  to  record  the  fact  that  we  are  to-day,  as 
Churchmen,  as  truly  brethren  as  we  have  ever  been,  and  that  no  deed  has  been 
done,  nor  word  uttered  which  leaves  a  single  wound  rankling  in  our  hearts. 
We  are  still  one  in  faith,  in  purpose,  and  in  hope.  But  political  changes,  forced 
upon  us  by  a  stern  necessitj'-,  have  occurred,  which  have  placed  our  Dioceses  in 
a  position  requiring  consultation  as  to  our  future  Ecclesiastical  relations.  It  is 
better  that  those  relations  should  be  arranged  by  the  common  consent  of  all  tho 
Dioceses  within  the  Confederate  States,  than  by  the  independent  action  of  each 
Diocese.  The  one  will  probably  lead  to  harmonious  action,  the  other  might 
produce  inconvenient  diversity. 

"We  propose  to  you,  therefore,  Rt.  Rev.  and  Dear  Brother,  that  you  recommend 
to  your  Diocesan  Convention,  the  appointment  of  three  Clerical  and  three  Lay 
Deputies,  who,  together  with  the  Bishop  of  the  Diocese,  shall  be  Delegates  to 
mee^an  equal  number  of  Delegates  from^ach  of  the  Dioceses  within  the  Con. 
federate  States,  at  Montgomery,  in  the  Diocese  of  Alabama,  on  the  3d  day  of 
July  next,  to  consult  upon  such  matters  ^  may  have  arisen  out  of  the  change 
in  our  civil  affairs. 

We  have  taken  upon  ourselves  to  address  you  this  Circular  because  we  hap- 
pen to  be  together  and  are  the  senior  Bishops  of  the  Dioceses  within  tho 
Confederate  States. 

Very  Sincerely  and  Truly  Yours, 

LEOXIDAS  POLK, 
STEPHEN  ELLIOTT. 

The  object  of  this  meeting  is  simply,  as  jou  will  perceive, 
to  determine  our  ecclesiastical  relations  with  the  Dioceses  from 
'which  our  jurisdictions  have  been  separated.  We  have  no 
quarrel  with  the  divine  organization  of  the  Church,  none 
with  its  faith,  none  with  its^ worship,  none  with  its  discipline. 
But  we  must  adjust  anew  our  ecclesiastical  relations.  They 
have  been  disturbed  if  not  destroyed  by  the  disruption  of  the 
Union,  and  we  should  see  to  it  at  once,  that  nothing  is  done 
to  compromise  our  own  position  or  that  of  the  Confederate 
States.  I  recommend  therefore  to  this  Convention  the  ap- 
pointment of  three  Clerical,  and  three   Lay  Deputies,  who 


12  ADDRESS  OF  THE 

with  the  Bishop,  shall  represent  this  Diocese  in  a  Convention 
to  be  held  in  Montgomery  on  the  8d  day  of  July  next. 

Soon  after  the  State  of  Georgia  seceded,  I  issued  directions  to 
my  Clergy  to  pray  for  the  Governor  of  the  State  instead  of  the 
President  of  the  United  States.  As  the  President  of  the 
Confederate  States  has  announced,  in  his  late  Message,  the 
adoption  by  all  the  seceded  States  of  the  permanent  Consti- 
tution of  the  Confederacy,  I  now  instruct  the  Clergy  to  cease 
praying  for  the  Executive  of  this  State,  and  to  substitute  in 
the  prayer  for  the  President  of  the  United  States  the  word 
"Confederate"  in  place  of  the  word  "United"  and  in  the 
prayer  for  Congress  to  say  "  as  for  the  people  of  these  Con- 
federate States  in  general  "  so  especially  for  their  "  Delegates 
in  Congress  assembled, "  whenever  that  Congress  shall  be  in 
session. 

Mv  first  official  act  during  the  past  year  was  confirniing 
on  Friday  night.  May  11,  1860,  in  St.  Stephen's  Chapel, 
Savannah,  seven  persons,  all»of  whom  were  colored. 

On  Sunday  morning.  May  13, 1  confirmed  in  Christ  Church, 
Savannah,  eight  persons,  all  white.  On  the  same  day  in  the 
afternoon,  I  confirmed  in  St.  Paul's  Free  Church,  Savannah, 
five  persons. 

On  Sunday  morning,  May  20,  I  confirmed  in  the  Church 
of  the  Messiah,  St.  Mary's,  four  persons,  one  of  whom  was 
colored.  On  Tuesday,  May  22,  I  confirmed  in  St.  Mark's, 
Brunswick,  nine  persons,  and  on  the  next  day  I  baptized  in 
the  same  church  one  adult,  and  one  infant,  and  confirmed 
another  candidate.  These  two  Parishes  of  St.  Mary's  and  St. 
Mark's  are  reviving  and  strengthening  under  the  energetic  care 
of  Dr.  Easter.  He  has  also  succeeded  in  forming  a  self-support- 
ing Parish  in  Camden  County  u^on  the  Satilla  Eiver,  which 
when  occupied  by  a  Missionary,  will  complete  the  chain  of 
missionary  posts  upon  all  the  great  rivers  of  the  State,  south 
of  the  Savannah. 

On  Sunday  morning.  May  27,  being  Whit  Sunday,  I  con- 
firmed in  St.  Paul's,  Augusta,  eight  persons.  This  has  been 
an  eventful  year  to  St.  Paul's.     It  has  been  completely  reno- 


BISHOP   OF   GEORGIA.  IS 

vated  and  improved  internally,  and  furnished  with  a  very 
fine  organ.  I  regret  to  add  that  its  faithful  Pastor,  Dr.  Ford, 
who  has  served  the  Church  for  twenty-seven  years  has  sent 
in  his  resignation  to  the  Vestry,  on  account  of  continued 
infirm  health.  The  Vestry  has  very  properly  refused  to 
accept  it,  and  requested  him  to  take  two  years  complete 
rest  for  which  they  will  provide,  and  meanwhile  procure 
a  Clergyman  to  supply  Dr.  Ford's  place  during  his  absence. 
This  action  is  alike  honorable  to  both  parties,  and  has  been 
acceded  to  by  Dr.  Ford,  with  the  same  frankness  with  which 
it  was  offered. 

On  Sunday  afternoon,  May  27,  Whit  Sunday,  I  confirmed 
in  the  Church  of  the    Atonement,  Augusta,  six  persons. 

On  Sunday  night,  June  3,  I  confirmed  in  St.  Philip's 
Church,  Atlanta,  eleven  persons.  On  the  next  night  in  the 
same  Church,  I  confirmed  two  persons. 

On  Wednesday  afternoon,  June  6,  I- preached   in  Marietta. 

Sunday  morning,  Jiine  10,  I  confirmed  in  Emmanuel 
Church,  Athens,  seven  persons,  and  on  Monday  mornings 
June  11,'  I  confirmed  another  sick  candidate  at  his  home. 

Wednesday  morning,  June  13,  I  confirmed  in  the  Church 
of  the  Advent,  Madison,  one  person. 

Sunday  morning,  June  17,  I  confirmed  in  Grace  Church, 
Gainesville,  five  persons,  and  on  Wednesday  night,  I  con- 
firmed in  the  same  Church,  five  other  persons. 

Sunday,  June  24,  I  paid  a  second  visit  to  Emmanuel 
Church,  Athens,  and  confirmed  seven  persons,  making  in  all 
fifteen  persons  from  this  Church.  Dr.  Henderson  is  still 
pursuing  his  active  and  vigorous  ministry  in  Athens  and  its 
neighborhood,  making  the  Church  known  and  respected  all 
around  him. 

July  6, 1  admitted  to  the  Holy  Order  of  Deacons  in  St  John's 
Church,  Savannah,  the  Eev.  T.  J.  Staley.  Mr.  Staley  was<i 
licentiate  among  the  Methodists.  He  at  once  took  charge  of 
St.  Stephen's  Chapel  for  colored  persons,  and  of  one  or  two 
plantations  upon  the  Savannah  River,  and  has  been  labor- 
ing very  acceptably  and  successfully  at  tb,ese  points. 


1-i  ADDKESS   OF   THE 

Thursday,  August  SO,  I  commenced  my  visitation  of  St. 
James'  Church,  Marietta,  and  officiated  at  night.  Friday,  Au- 
gust 81,  I  admitted  in  the  same  Church  to  the  Holy  Order 
of  Priests,  at  the  request  of  the  lit.  Rev.  Dr.  Otey,  the  Rev. 
William  Mowbray  of  the  Diocese  of  Tennessee.  Saturday, 
September  1,  I  confirmed  in  private,  two  white  persons,  and 
on  Sunday,  in  St.  James'  Church,  eleven  persons.  I  found 
this  Parish  in  a  state  of  great  activity  under  the  care  of  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Benedict. 

.On  Wednesday,  October  10,  I  assisted  in  the  presence  of  a 
very  large  assemblage  of  ■  the  Bishops,  Clergy  and  Laity  of 
the  Church,  in  laying  the  Corner  Stone  of  the  main  building 
of  the  University  of  the  South.  This  great  enterprise,  thus 
successfully  inaugurated,  has  been  checked  for  the  winter,  by 
the  confusion  of  public  affairs,  and  the  temporary  division 
of  the  Dioceses  which  made  up  the  Board  of  Trustees ;  seven 
of  them  having  seceded  and  formed  "the  Confederate  States," 
wdiile  .the  remaining  three  adhered»to  the  United  States. 
The  recent  action  of  Arkansas,  Tennessee  and  North  Carolina, 
all  of  which  have  passed  ordinances  of  secession,  will  soon 
re-unite  the  Ten  Dioceses  under  one  Government.  Mean- 
while the  funds  which  have  been  subscribed  are  securely 
invested,  bearing  good  interest,  and  ready  for  use  when  the 
condition  of  things  shall^make  it  prudent  to  resume  the  active 
work  upon  the  University. 

During  the  session  of  the  Board  of  Trustees,  held  on 
the  three  days  subsequent  to  the  10th,  the  Constitutio» 
and  Statutes  of  the  University,  which  had  been  laid  over  for 
final  consideration,  were  revised  and  adopted  by  the  Board. 
They  form  an  almost  perfect  model  of  such"  an  University  as 
the  South  needs,  and  have  received  every  where  the  approval 
and  admiration  of  the  learned. 

♦  Sunday,  October  28,  and  Sunday,  November  11, 1  officiated 
in  Christ  Church,  Savannah,  that  Church  being  without  a 
Rector.  I  again  officiated  in  the  same  Church  on  the  Sundays 
of  the  2d,  9th  and  16th  of  December. 

Friday,  Deceml^r  7,  I  admitted  in  St.  Paul's  Free  Church, 


BISHOP   OF  GEORGIA.  15 

Mr.  H.  E.  Tschudy,  to  the  Holy  Order  of  Deacons.  Mr. 
Tschudy  acted  for  some  months  as  the  assistant  Minister  of 
St.  Paul's  Free  Church,  but  in  consequence  of  the  rupture 
between  the  North  and  South,  has  been  transferred,  with  the 
consent  of  Bishop  Potter,  to  the  Diocese  of  Pennsylvania. 

Friday,  December  14,  I  admitted  in  Savannah,  the  Rev. 
John  D.  Easter  to  the  Holy  Order  of  Priests,  and  the  Rev. 
Jaquelin  M.  Meredith,  to  the  Holy  Order  of  Deacons.  Mr. 
^feredith  was  transferred  from  Virginia  as  a  Candidate  for 
Orders.  He  has  taken  charge  of  ^plantations  upon  the  Alta- 
maha,  containing  nearly  eight  huncjred  slaves,  a  noble  field 
of  Missionary  enterprize.  The  four  plantations  make  him 
up  a  salary  of  one  thousand  dollars. 

Sunday,  November  18,  and  December  30,  I  officiated  in 
Calvary  Church,  Memphis,  where  I  had  the  pleasure  of  find- 
ing a  former  Presbyter  of  this  Diocese,  the  Rev.  Dr.  White, 
most  usefully  and  successfully  employed.  During  the  absence 
of  Bishop  Ote\',  I  confirmed  two  invalids  ana  received  one 
of  them,  a  member  of  my  own  Diocese,  to  the  Holy  Com- 
munion. 

Friday,  December  1-i,  I  confirmed  in  the  ev^ening  at  St. 
Stephen's  Chapel,  Savannah,  three  persons.  " 

Early  in  January,  I  was  called  to  Montgomery  to  perform 
the  last  sacred  offices  of  the  Church,  over  the  remains  of  my 
dear  friend  and  brother  in  the  Episcopate,  the  Rt.  Rev.  Nich- 
olas H.  Cobbs.  I  officiated  at  his  funeral,  in  connection  with 
as  many  of  his  Clergy  as  could  be  gathered  together  upon 
the  sad  occasion.  As  in  the  address  which  I  delivered  upon 
that  occasion,  and  which  has  been  published,  I  expressed  my 
opinion  at  large  of  his  excellencies  and  usefulness  in  the 
Church  of  Christ,  I  shall  dwell  no  further  upon  the  great  loss 
which  we  all,  but  especially  his  own  people,  have  sustained  in 
his  death  at  this  particular  crisis  of  affairs.  May  bis  Clergy, 
and  Laity  be  successful  in  electing  a  successor  worthy  of  his 
piety  and  faithfulness. 

Monday,  January  14,  at  the  request  of  the  Standing  Com- 
mittee of  the  Diocese  of  Alabama,  I  examined  Mr.  Gray,  for 


16  ADDRESS  OF  THE 

Deacon's  Orders,  and  on  Tuesday,  January  15,  I  admitted  him 
in  St.  John's  Church,  Montgomery,  to  the  Holy  Order  of 
Deacons. 

Sunday,  January  20,  I  confirmed  a  second  time,  in  St. 
PhiHp's  Church,  Atkmta,  and  added  six  to  the  number  con- 
firmed in  June,  making  nineteen  within  the  year.  The  Rector 
is  very  much  straightened  for  room,  the  Church  being  over 
crowded  with  even  its  ordinary  congregation. 

Sunday,  Februarj^  the  17,  I  confirmed  in  St.  Peter's  Rome, 
nine  persons,  two  of  whom  were  colored.  This  Church  is  in 
a  very  wholesome  and  well  ordered  condition,  advancing 
steadily  in  numbers  and  in  the  influence  of  holiness. 

Sunday,  February  21,  I  held  a  second  confirmation  in  St. 
James'  Church,  Marietta,  when  seven  additional  candidates 
were  presented,  making  twenty  in  this  Church  for  the  year.  In 
the  interval  between  my  two  visits,  the  Church  had  been  very 
much  improved,  and  a  school  edifice  erected  for  the  use  of  the 
pupils  connected  with  the  Female  School  established  under 
the  care  of  the  Rector.  I  would  embrace  this  opportunity  to 
recommend  this  School  to  the  patronage  of  the  Church  in 
Georgia. 

Easter  Sunday*  in  the  morning,  I  confirmed  in  Christ 
Church,  Savannah,  (one  of  whom  was  from  St.  Paul's,)  seven 
persons,  and  at  night  in  St.  John's  Church,  Savannah,  five 
persons. 

Sunday,  April  7,  I  ofiiciated  in  Christ  Church,  Savannah. 

Sunday,  April  21,  I  visited  St.  Paul's  Church,  Albany,  and 
confirmed  three  persons.  This  is  now  a  rapidly  growing 
Parish,  and  bids  fair  from  immigration  to  be  soon  among  the 
strongest  in  the  Diocese. 

Sunday,  April  28,  I  confirmed  in  St.  Andrew's  Church, 
Darien,  seven  persons,  two  of  whom  were  colored.  I  found 
this  Parishjn  an  excellent  spiritual  condition  and  increasingly 
alive  to  its  duty  to  itself  and  all  around  it.  As  one  of  the 
fruits  of  this  spirit  is  the  mission  among  the  negroes  upon  the 
Altamaha,  of  which  Mr.  Meredith  has  taken  the  charge. 
This  is  sustained  by  Planters  who  are  communicants  of  this 


BISHOP   OF  GEORGIA.  17 

Parish,  and  it  should  be  legitimately  credited  to  the  praise  of 
St.  Andrew's. 

On  Monday  morning,  April  29,  in  company  with  Mr.  Mere- 
dith, I  visited  the  plantation  of  Mr.  Nightingale,  on  Cambus 
Island.  The  negroes  were  all  gathered  together,  having  been 
given  a  holiday  for  the  purpose,  and  after  the  reading  of  the 
service  by  Rev.  Mr.  Meredith,  I  addressed  them  upon  the 
importance  of  the  mission  to  them  and  theirs.  There  are  at 
this  place  a  large  number  of  communicants  of  the  Episcopal 
Church,  but  they  need  re-gathering  and  revival. 

In  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day  the  Missionary  and  myself 
visited  Potosi,  the  plantation  of  Mr.  Richard  Morris.  The 
house  was  crowded  to  excess,  and  the  people  seemed  deeply 
interested  in  the  services.  Mr.  Meredith  read  the  service  and 
I  addressed  them  very  much  upon  the  same  topics  as  in  the 
morning. 

Tuesday  morning,  April  30.  the  Missionary  and  myself 
took  boat  early  and  crossed  over  to  the  magnificent  estate  of 
the  late  John  Butler,  of  Philadelphia.  This  estate  lies  upon 
an  island,  which  it  entirely  occupies  and  upon  which  are  some 
five  hundred  negroes.  It  is  a  parish  in  itself  The  house 
used  for  service  could  not  contain  one  half  of  the  congregation. 
The  children  themselves  form  a  congregation.  As  at  the  other 
plantations  Mr.  Meredith  read  the  service  and  I  addressed 
them  on  the  importance  of  his  pastoral  services  to  them  and 
their  children.  These  people  have  had  preaching  enough  and 
to  spare,  what  they  lack  now  is  pastoral  instruction.  They 
are  very  intelligent  and  anxious  for  religious  knowledge. 

Taking  our  boat  after  service  we  returned  to  Darien,  and 
drove  out  to  the  plantation  of  Lieut.  C.  Manigault  Morris, 
Ceylon,  where  we  held  an  afternoon  service.  There  were  no 
confirmations  at  any  of  these  places,  as  Mr.  Meredith  has  been 
engaged  for  too  short  a  time  in  his  work  to  have  prepared 
any,  as  they  should  be  prepared. 

Sunday,  May  5,  I  officiated  in  Trinity  Church,  Columbus, 
and  at  night  confirmed  a  very  interesting  class  of  nine  persons. 
Trinity  Church  has  been  very  much  improved  within  the  last 
c 


18  ADDRESS  OF  THE 

few  montlis,  having  been  entirely  renovated  and  its  sittings 
increased  to  a  very  large  extent.  It  can  now  furnish  accom- 
modations at  least  for  its  own  congregation. 

During  the  past  year,  I  have  ordained  the  Eev.  Messrs. 
Staley,  Meredith,  and  Tschudy  to  the  Diaconate,  and  have  ad- 
mitted the  Eev.  John  D.  Easter  to  Priest's  Orders.  As  I  have 
already  stated,  Mr.  Staley  is  officiating  in  St.  Stephen's  Chapel, 
Savannah.  Mr.  Meredith  is  Missionary  upon  the  Altamaha, 
and  Mr.  Tschud}^  has  been  transferred  to  the  Diocese  of  Penn- 
sylvania. I  have  received  the  Eev.  J.  G.  Downing  from  the 
Diocese  of  South  Carolina,  and  the  Eev.  Wm.  E.  Eppes  from 
the  Diocese  of  Florida.  I  have  transferred  the  Eev.  Mr.  Cur- 
tis to  the  Missionary  jurisdiction  of  Arkansas. 

There  have  been  very  few  Parochial  changes  during  the 
past  year,  and  these  have  arisen  mainly  from  ill-health  or  from 
new  adjustments  within  the  Diocese.  The  resignation  of  Mr. 
Curtis  from  St.  Stephen's,  Milledgeville,  and  his  removal  to 
Arkansas,  is  very  much  to  be  regretted,  for  he  was  truly 
valued  and  beloved  among  us. 

I  have  deemed  it  best,  under  the  circumstances  of  the  Dio- 
cese and  the  Country,  to  resume  my  pastoral  charge  of  Christ 
Church,  Savannah.  The  Yestry  has  given  me  an  assistant, 
and  I  have  selected  the  Eev.  Charles  Cole}^,  of  Madison,  for 
that  post.  His  acceptance  of  the  charge  has  vacated  the 
Church  of  the  Advent  at  Madison. 

Three  Candidates  for  Orders  have  been  received  during  the 
year,  Mr.  Charles  A  Grant,  of  Savannah,  Mr.  G.  E.  Crawford, 
of  Hawkinsville,  and  Mr.  Charles  W.  Thomas,  late  a  highly 
esteemed  minister  of  the  Methodist  Church,  and  a  Chaplain 
in  the  U.  S.  Navy.  These  together  with  Mr.  Starr  and  Mr. 
Geo.  Easter  make  up  our  number  of  Candidates. 

During  the  past  year,  our  oldest  and  most  venerated  Pres- 
byter has  been  called  to  his  rest.  The  Eev.  Seneca  G.  Bragg, 
for  so  many  years  the  faithful  and  beloved  pastor  of  this 
Church,  and  a  most  efficient  member  of  all  the  important  com- 
mittees of  the  Diocese,  has  gone  to  join  all  those  faithful  souls 
whom  he  had  guided,  as  a  true  shepherd,  to  the  Heavenly 


BISHOP  OF  GEORGIA.  19 

fold.    He  was  a  man  full  of  faith  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost.     To 
the  simplicity  and  guilelessness  of  a  child,  he  united  the  dio-. 
nity  and  the  powei'  which  holiness  invariably  gives.    His  heart 
was  all  love,   his  tongue  was  all  charity.     Men  looked  upon 
his  walk  and  conversation,  and  believed  in  the  religion  of 
Jesus  Christ.     Never  man  was  more  beloved,  not  only  by  his 
own  people,  but  by  all  around  him.     When  his  eve  was  dim 
and  his  natural  force  abated,  it  was  truly  touching  to  witness 
the  care  which  was  taken  of  him  by  his  parishioners.     Never 
having  married,  he  seemed  to  be  a  member  of  every  house- 
hold, for  whom  too  much  could  not  be  done.     He  made  his 
home  with  his  old  beloved  friend  and  parishioner,  Mr  Mun- 
roe,  under   whose  roof  he  gradually  decayed.     Durino-  the 
summer  he  went  to  New-York  to  visit,  for  the  last  tim°e,  his 
nephews  and  nieces,  and  was  too  weak  to  return.     He  died 
in  that  State,  in  January,  entering  into  the  rest  which  he  so 
ardently  desired. 

And  now,  my  brethren,  I  commend  you  to  the  care  and 
keeping  of  Him,  who  has  promised  to  be  with  His  Church 
always  to  the  end  of  the  world. 

STEPHEN  ELLIOTT, 

Bishop  of  the  Diocese  of  Georgia. 


